The Real Deal New York

You’ll never guess where homes are the most at-risk for flooding

Arizona has the highest concentration of houses built on land, not included in the federal government’s designated flooding zones, that is at a high-moderate risk of being damaged by a deluge.

The findings, reported by the Wall Street Journal, come from new research by CoreLogic and stated that 68 percent of homes in Arizona are located in flood-prone areas compared to 31 percent in Texas, 49 percent in Louisiana and 54 percent in Florida — all places which are known to be vulnerable, unlike the home state of the Grand Canyon.

Arizona’s flooding risk can largely be explained by Phoenix’s flat topography, its proximity to the Salt Rive and irrigation canals throughout the metro area.

“So you have a very flat city built along a river and then also with these canals that can become conduits for flooding,” CoreLogic’s chief scientist Howard Botts told the Journal.

When buying a house inside a government-designated flood zone, buyers can’t get a government-backed mortgage without flood insurance, but those purchasing their homes outside these zones do not have the same requirements, so buyers could be uninformed about the risks at their new property.